A Case of Gastric Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Presenting as Early Gastric Cancer Diagnosed by Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection

ABSTRACT

Gastric neuroendocrine carcinomas are very rare, when compared with gastric adenocarinomas. In addition, it is difficult to distinguish between gastric adenocarcinoma and gastric neuroendocrine carcinoma histol-ogically without immunohistochemical staining. In most of the reported cases, neuroendocrine carcinomas were diagnosed at an advanced stage, confirmed postoperatively by histological examinations using immunohistochemical staining and associated with a poor prognosis. A 55-year-old woman was diagnosed as cellular atypia by screening endoscopy for her health check-up at a local clinic. Histological examination from the endoscopic specimen revealed suspicious early gastric cancer. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes and the pathologic findings revealed neuroendocrine carcinoma. Herein, we report a case of gastric neuroendocrine carcinoma presenting as early gastric cancer that was diagnosed by endoscopic submucosal dissection.